Factory RIB Dinghy or other?

[Eastside3]

I must have looked at 1,000,000,000 dinghys and “things that float” in my quest to find a dinghy that will be a best fit for our needs. I was curious about the Highfield brand and who might have some first hand experience with them along with the factory RIB offering. Likes: the aluminum double layered hull with flat interior and bow locker. I’m also leaning toward having my R29 (destined to arrive from the factory in July) made without the back railing. This way I’ll be able to hold the dinghy horizontally off the swimstep, preserving the view while underway. I’ll likely go with the Hurley H2O system.

So for those who are a fan of RIBs, what have you liked, disliked, would never buy again, etc?
Thanks fellow tugnuts.

 

[baz]

Before doing this I would contact RT and ask them if what you are wanting to do is something they would want you to do or not. Adding weight back there, especially with the dinghy horizontal, along with the weight of the Hurley could throw/disturb the boat's performance and stability. Adding weight to the stern is always problematic. An open horizontal dinghy could fill with water adding even more unwanted weight to the stern.

RT does provide a factory dinghy positioned vertically and would suggest if you really want a dinghy then follow the RT's dinghy installation design.

If ever you decide to not have the dinghy with you while underway, then not having the railings is a safety issue IMO.

Have you considered how the Hurley can be installed with the propane locker on the swim step ?

Personally, if the rear view is paramount I would not consider a dinghy on the swim step in vertical nor horizontal position.

 

[BB marine]

I have a Gala Aluminum Rib 270. It is wide and when mounted on the platform vertically obstructed the aft visibility. We have in the past towed once with the Rib attached. It was a sail hanging off the back of the boat and moved a lot. I do not have a platform rail. Over the winter I installed another set of brackets for the stand offs (weaver davit system I installed) I now have the option when anchored or at the marina to have the dingy sitting vertical allowing for room to use the platform or sitting at a 40 degree angle covering the swim platform when under way or towing over the road. It rides much better in this position on the water or over the road. I have much better aft visibility and the weight distribution on the weaver davit is better.

This is the original Stand off location used while at anchor or in the marina. Notice how high it sets reducing aft viability to almost nothing and putting all the weight on the port tube. When in rougher seas the boat is bouncing quite a bit.





This is the location of secondary stand off brackets. I use the same stand offs remain the same length. The the secondary bracket are mounted lower. The port tube rises up slightly reducing the water off the hull from hitting it the weight distribution is better, and It lowered the starboard tube so I can now have decent visibility aft. I positioned it this way and towed 200 miles over the road with the cover on it with no issues. It sat low enough that it was not effected by the wind. Full enclosure and Bimini removed.


Has far as the dingy Highfield are getting to be very popular. We chose the Gala our preference well built, made in the Ukraine distributed out of Canada. The hulls are aluminum welded and powder coated, the fabric material is either VALMEX or HYPALON no China products used. The hull is well designed and handles well . I have had three different size motors. 6hp will plane one person but it takes some effort, 2 or more forget about it, 7.5 2 stroke planes easily with one person 2 or more forget about it, 9.9 it jumps out of the water with one person, planes easily with 3 people, 4 your back to displacement. I like the 9.9 and now use it with a davit to lift and hang it on the dingy, I use the davit also to raise and lower the dingy in and out of the water. No effort at all.

I wanted to use the Hurley. I spoke with the manufacture gave him my specs. He said it could work but he was worried about following sea conditions and when coming off a high cruise speed run. The back wash may lift the boat or fill it with water. Your R 29 probably has different specs and it may work fine on your boat.

 

[Cutwater28GG]

I went with the takacat 260 sport (closed bow) https://www.takacat.com/as its the lightest and arguably best rowing soft floor inflatable around.
if money were no object I would buy an OC tender https://octenders.co.nz/

yes it does block the view somewhat but not enough to not see behind for traffic. at rest I lower it (as its so light its no drama at all - 1 handed operation)

I have the 4 inch risers on the weaver davits which helps get spray off the dinghy at speed. no spray only occurs when im fully up on the plane though. slightly off plane the dinghy gets drenched with higher loads on the davits.

 

[Eastside3]

Cutwater28GG, I’ve actually been emailing the folks at OC Tenders. They are pretty sweet but they are a pretty penny too. They also aren’t really versed in having their tenders set up with any hardware for a conventional davit system. They don’t like to use stainless steel and have admitted that they’ve been getting more requests for other methods of carrying their tenders either on their side or horizontally. Personally I’m ginshy I’m trying something that isn’t tried and true. I do like everything I’ve seen though. I wish there was someone locally to find that has one so I could see it. It’s a lot of coin to pay for something I can’t see and feel in person.

 

[scross]

We started with a wood slat floor roll up dinghy. Fairly easy to store if you didn’t want it in the standard Davits. But really crappy handling against any waves or wakes. Obviously would not go on plane.
Always thought the factory dinghy option was a bit pricey until I added up the price of all the components. I know believe it’s a fair value, high quality option.
If money were no object, I’d get an aluminum hull, hapalon fabric RHIB (length=beam) on standard Davits with a good back up camera. As money is, sadly, still and object, I’m quite happy with our fiberglass hull, hapalon fabric dinghy on standard Davits. It’s fun watching Vicki standing in the cockpit yelling at me what I’m about to hit as I back up blindly.

 

[Cowichan]

I have Hurley Davits on my Cutwater 30, and I’m very pleased. There is no weight change between the standard Weaver and Hurley. The fact that the dinghy is horizontal makes no difference- the centre of gravity is still just above the back of the swimstep, as with the Weaver, in fact it is about 6” towards the bow compared with the Weaver. I have a better view now, less wind resistance, less noise. The only down side is that the swim grid is less accessible, but the other aspects are more important to me.

 

[Cutwater28GG]

I got to inspect an OC tender in person in raja ampat in indonesia a few months ago of all places. its a beautiful piece of kit.
There are also a bunch of videos on youtube that show off the tender in detail.

Do the OC tender guys have experience with the hurley system? my sense is if you can strike up a conversation with the guys in NZ it would be possible to work something out.
I had a great experience with the CEO of takacat. i ordered direct with NZ and saved a ton on the exchange rate rather than use their US dealer who wasnt that responsive. the boat was drop shipped direct from China to me.

I should start a dealer for the OC guys!

 

[JohnL]

Does anyone know the brand name of the dinghy supplied as an option by Ranger?

 

[SJI Sailor]

It is unlabeled and their own brand, according to the hull number prefix.

It might be OEM'ed and functionally identical to something else, but in a few brief attempts to match it, I've not been able to. If so, it would be handy to know, in order to have another venue for parts, etc.